Vacant House Burns In Walnut Creek Early Thursday
Firefighters are at the scene of a structure fire at an apparently abandoned home at 1st Avenue and Hall Lane in Walnut Creek. The first crews on the scene reported being met by heavy smoke and flame from the residence, located in the 1600 block of 1st Avenue. The blaze was first reported at 1:05…
Another Window Smash Auto Burglary Outside A Peet’s Monday – This Time In Orinda
A hardworking and highly mobile car burglar made off with a MacBook Pro and other items outside the Peet’s location in Orinda Monday. Witnesses said the thief, described as a black male driving a black BMW with blue paper plate inserts marked to Weatherford BMW struck a Mini Cooper convertible Monday morning, grabbing the computer…
Two-Alarm Grass Fire Brews Up Atop Buckingham Drive in Moraga; Some Evacuations Underway
Firefighters worked to get ahead of a fast-moving blaze reported at the top of Buckingham Drive in Moraga Monday, evacuating some neighbors from their homes as the fire pushed up the hillside. Traffic was stopped on Moraga Road as fire apparatus attempted to access the fire scene via Buckingham. Fire commanders estimated that about 10…
Pup Commandeers Walnut Creek Police Car – Gives Officer A Tonguelashing
Walnut Creek police are trying to reunite a lovely and, apparently, highly affectionate pup with its rightful owner after the animal sought refuge in Officer Akers’ car in town yesterday and let him know in dog language that she was lost. No word if the department’s uniform policy covers excessive drooling but Officer Akers got…
Fertile Grounds: Local Car Burglars Preying On Coffee Shop Customers
Watching for trends as we do around here we can say we’ve noted a decided uptick in the number of car burglaries outside local coffee houses of late – in broad daylight and so quick even the few people who realize what is happening have little time to react. Lafayette Police Chief Ben Alldritt has…
Fatal Crash On Westbound Highway 24 At Broadway Stalls Wednesday Morning Commute
UPDATE: Westbound lanes of Highway 24 at Broadway reopened and moving again at 7:36 a.m. A fatal accident on westbound Highway 24 at the Broadway exit prompted a SigAlert for the area Wednesday, immediately closing all but a single lane of traffic and prompting a backup felt as far as Acalanes Road. We’re getting multiple…
Pleasant Hill Police Announce Additional Arrests In Oshry Elor Murder Case
From Pleasant Hill PD: In April 2018, the Pleasant Hill Police Department began investigating the murder of Oshry Elor at his home on Norse Drive. The initial investigation quickly led to the identification and arrest of Keith Jones, of Cuessta (sic), Georgia. Additional suspects were identified and detained, however there was insufficient evidence to charge…
Attempt At Unauthorized Withdrawal From Martinez Bank Goes Awry Thursday
Martinez Police Chief Manjit Sappal and his team have been busy lately, descending on the Chase Bank branch on Alhambra Avenue Thursday to arrest a man who had just passed a note demanding money to a teller – doing so before the suspect had a chance to get his cash. Chief Sappal says his team…
Suspected Coffeehouse Laptop Thieves Arrested In Dublin; Charged Monday
On Saturday, May 30, 2018, a victim had a laptop computer forcefully stolen while he sat inside the Starbucks located in the Hacienda Crossings Shopping Center at 4930 Dublin Boulevard. A similar theft occurred again on June 6 and June 8, 2018 at Starbucks locations in Hacienda Crossings and the Persimmon Place Shopping Center at…
Orinda PD Officer – And Instinct – Combine To Stop Burglary In Progress Monday
Orinda Police Chief Mark Nagel said one of his officers spotted a suspicious person entering the side gate of a home on Altarinda Drive Monday – detaining that person for further investigation while waiting for backup from a fellow officer – and determined that the residence had been ransacked. Nagel said the so-far unnamed officer…